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14 kitchen hacks to save time and stay healthy

Is lack of time wreaking havoc with your diet? Try these time-saving tips for healthy eating.

About a quarter of us say lack of time is a barrier to eating better; it’s one of the most commonly mentioned obstacles. Long work days, parenting and household duties can leave us with little time and energy to prepare nourishing home-made meals.

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘I don’t even have time to start the planning.’ Often when we say we’re too busy to cook, we mean it’s not a priority – and sometimes that’s a perfectly acceptable explanation. I could say I’m too busy to clean up my messy kitchen drawer, but the truth is it’s simply not that important to me. So what about healthy eating for you?

Try saying this aloud: “Healthy eating is not a priority.” If you’re not comfortable with that statement, because healthy eating is a priority for you, then make sure it is by scheduling time to get started.

1. Plan

Set aside 10-15 minutes this weekend to come up with main meals – your easy family favourites – for the coming week. This will save you time and stress.

2. Double up

Cook two batches of every meal – whether it’s beans, mince, chilli, casserole, sauces, soups or grains (rice, quinoa). Eat one on the day and freeze the other.

3. Create versatile meals

Find basic recipes you can enjoy in a number of different ways. For example, a mince dish to use as a base for a shepherd’s pie, tacos and quesadillas; and roasted chicken to eat with root vegetables, in a salad, and shredded in sauce over rice.

4. Create spin-off meals

Save time by planning ahead for your next meal each time you cook. Cook an extra chicken breast or steak, or boil half a dozen eggs, that you can use in sandwiches or salads for lunch or as the basis for a salad dinner the following night.

5. Transform leftovers into tomorrow’s lunch

Use leftover meat, cooked veges or salad as fillings for a wholegrain wrap, for example.

6. Think small

Stock up on small vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, baby beetroot and carrots, pickled onions, olives, radishes and baby-leaf salads. Then you can quickly throw a salad together without chopping or cutting.